Laguna Atascosa - So Good We Did It 3 Times
Written: Apr 29 '07 (Updated May 10 '07)
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Pros: Bayside Trail offers great views, wonderful collection of species.
Cons: The mosquitoes will carry you off IN your car.
The Bottom Line: One of the best places we visited, it offered up a wide variety of species of all types.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge |
When my wife and I went on our recent birding trip to the lower Rio Grande Valley, we decided to stay at The Inn at Chachalaca Bend, a well-renowned bed-and-breakfast that has been popular with birders for years because of its bird-friendly habitat and proximity to a number of the area's premier birding locations. And the closest of those locations is Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
[ • about LAGUNA ATASCOSA • ]
Laguna Atascosa - which means "Muddy Lagoon" in Spanish, is a vast collection of 45,000 acres of scrub habitat that represents the largest single collection of protected habitat in the region. Nestled on the coastline of Texas across the strait from South Padre Island, the park is home to a vast number of birds, reptiles, insects and rare mammals such as the endangered ocelot. The park represents a number of different microhabitats, such as temperate, subtropical, coastal and desert, but the largest is the scrub prairie full of scrub pines, yucca and cactus that predominate the interior of the park.
Because of its size and location, Laguna Atascosa represents a major stopover for many species of birds and the last refuge for many once-common animals. In addition to the migratory animals, the park is home to several alligators, numerous species of snakes (including large indigo snakes that help keep down the rattlesnake population), ocelot, jaguarandi, bobcat and coyotes.
[ • getting THERE • ]
The main path to Laguna Atascosa is the paved-unpaved-paved-dirt-paved-there’s a road here?-paved-dirt-paved road that is County Road 106. The road isn't exactly the best and smoothest that we've ever driven on, so be ready for a semi-bumpy and fairly dusty ride. However, there were birds and other wildlife everywhere, so the drive in is still very interesting. In fact, one of the highlights was seeing the endangered Aplomado Falcon perched on a power line just outside the park boundaries on our way there.
[ • of drives AND TRAILS • ]
While the park has some trails near the entrance, the main way of getting around is one of the two main driving trails. The Lakeside Drive is a short 1.5-mile trip that leads to the actual Laguna Atascosa, a large but shallow lake near the visitor's center, where many waterfowl can be found in the winter. But more popular is the 15-mile one-way Bayside Trail that winds through the majority of the park. A driving trail, it offers views of numerous habitats, including wetlands, scrub prairie and coastal plains and winds through the majority of the parks area.
If you are in the mood for a hike, there are six main trails ranging in length from 1/8 of a mile (Kiskadee Trail) to 3.1 miles (Moranco Blanco). These are fairly casual hikes that go into areas where visitors can still see numerous examples of the local wildlife.
[ • visitor CENTER • ]
From the moment we went into the visitor’s center and spoke with the volunteers (who were awesome - a common threat for most of the people in Texas, we’d find), it was a great experience. The visitor center offers all of the usual amenities: bathroom, snacks, drinks, information and they'll take your park fee for you. They also have a mini-museum which highlights the history of the region, that particular area and the various wildlife that predominates throughout the park. It's small, and they use a number of taxidermed animals, but it's fairly interesting. More interesting were their bird viewing areas - a wide open feeding area next to the visitor’s center and a blind about 100′ away, were awesome. We got to see a lot of species close-up and perhaps a bit friendlier than we would have otherwise. We didn’t get to see their unique “blue green jay” (an aberrant jay with no yellow pigment), but otherwise were treated to quite a show and shot a lot of pictures there.
There are also several small walking paths (including one which leads to a small picnic gazebo) that originate from the visitor center. But for the most part, this is a driving park, so after paying your fee, grabbing your map and checking out the bird feeding, you'll be on your way.
[ • the BAYSIDE DRIVE • ]
For us, the best place was the longest route - so, off to the Bayside Drive we went for a leisurely 15-mile loop around lagoon, marshes, scrub plains and desert arroyos. And it was awesome, so awesome that we did 3 loops in one day, and returned twice to the park on our 5-day trip (it helped that it was only 20 minutes down the road from where we were staying). The Drive is mostly dirt road (gravel in some places, dirt/mud mostly though), and winds along the outer edge of the park in most places. There are a few pull-offs, one or two stopping points, a viewing tower a little past the halfway mark and a few other small stops, but mostly once you are on the drive, you're going to drive the whole thing.
At first, it was quiet and we were speeding around fairly quickly until we got to the stretch that faced the bay and Laguna Madre, when we started seeing some herons and osprey. The day was getting slightly cooler as we inched further into the afternoon, and the wildlife started to show: Eastern & Western Meadowlarks, Curve-billed Thrashers, and a number of hawks wheeling through the air. Then we saw our first Crested Caracara, a really cool hawk that stands taller than most (similar to Africa’s Secretary Bird). As we did our second and third loops, we got to see more and more, particularly as the sun went down further and futher. More caracara’s, willets, Long-billed Curlew, more osprey, various smaller birds, herons, egrets, and a long-distance White-tailed Kite.
The songbirds seem to populate most of the interior spots, while shorebirds and wading birds - sensibly - hang closer to the edges of the park closer to the bay. Hawks rise and fall at every angle, and you'll see numerous other species drifting back and forth, including the fun roadrunners that Texas is known for. The place was full of birds of every type and description, and we were enjoying the drive(s) immensely. In most places, the road is wide enough that you can pull over and others can pass - which is great, because we were pulling over quite frequently, as were most other visitors (a single stopping vehicle can create a parade-like stopping as people try to find out what's being seen).
In addition to the birds, there are some other unique animals which are quite thrilling to see - if you're lucky (we weren't, for the most part). As I mentioned earlier, ocelots have a decent population here after being protected in the park to bolster their nearly extirpated population. They've done so well, in fact, that on one of the days we were there, they were actually trapping some of them to take to other nearby parks to help them spur their own populations of these beautiful spotted cats. Other great - and rarely seen outside of places like this - species include, the jaguarandi (a dark, miniature puma-like wild cat) javelina (a kind of miniature wild boar) and a herd of introduced Nilgai antelope (from India - I have no clue why they're here). The best time to come to catch these rarer species is at dawn when they are still active from nocturnal hunting. For most of the birds, however, the days are better especially as dusk is closing in.
[ • a FEW WARNINGS • ]
The park is pretty nice and there aren't many things you have to worry about when you take the drives. But there are a few things to keep in mind when you travel there. When we visited, the mosquitoes, supposedly not too bad most times, were horrendous. Not only were they huge, but I think that they were actively trying to gnaw through the weather stripping around the car windows to get in. Any opening of the windows in certain stretches was doomed to let dozens into the car. So, even if you aren't hiking, bring bug spray. If you ARE going hiking, be extra careful to use bug spray and bring a backup to re-apply later. The same warning goes for the Texas deer ticks, which can sometimes pass on Lyme disease.
If you visit the alligator pond, be careful of the alligators - they aren't always right in view and they can be dangerous. I know it sounds stupid, but it must be common enough that people to dumb things that the range made a point of saying it when we asked about them. And if you do go hiking, watch for rattlesnakes. While the indigo snakes throughout the park keep the numbers down, there are still rattlers out there - we saw a large 6' western diamondback that had been less than 1m from where we had been standing - we had completely missed it until someone pointed it out to us. If you are going to hike, be sure to keep your eyes open - and wear boots, if you can.
[ • final THOUGHTS • ]
All in all, this was one of our favorite parks to visit when we made our trip. Although it was a driving trip more than a walking one - which I normally prefer - the park and drive were good enough that I really didn't mind in the end. We had a great time - from the moment we stepped into the visitor's center to the time we made our final loop - and saw a ton of great wildlife. We plan on going back on our next trip, and hope to see some of the rarer animals. But in the meantime, we have lots of great memories from the trips we already made. The terrain is for everyone - because you drive much of the park, almost anyone can visit and get a lot out of it. More adventurous types can walk the trails, too - we never quite made it (those darn mosquitoes were a bit of a deterrent). It's hot and dry - you'll need a lot of water - but I'm sure that the hiking trails are great, too.
If you are going to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, I would highly recommend making at least one trip to this park. It might not be the prettiest of the local gems in the area, but it was by far one of the most consistently productive of all of the parks we visited. A definite 'must-see' of the Texas park system.
[ • related REVIEWS • ]
• Santa Ana NWR: One of the Best Birding Spots in Texas - Most Days
• National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America - 5th Edition
• National Geographic Field Guide to Birds: Texas
• Sibley's Guide to Birds - coming soon.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: March-May
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Wildlife
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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